Who's a good boy? Hudson & Rex star living his best doggie life

Tensions on the buddy-cop show Hudson & Rex are running high. Higher than the hem of a dame drinking cosmos on a girls’ night out. There’s been a murder — a figure skating coach was iced at the local rink.

At the police station, a woman walks in, all blond hair and big eyes. Lead character Rex looks up, sensing something’s amiss. His partner, Charlie Hudson, exchanges pleasantries with the woman but Rex isn’t distracted that easily. He signals to Hudson to check her bag.

Bam! A bloody glove. Rex closes the scene with a self-satisfied declaration, his equivalent of a Horatio Caine one-liner on CSI: Miami. Cut to commercial.

That scene, from a Hudson & Rex episode earlier this month, is just one of many that prove Rex’s portrayer, Diesel vom Burgimwald, is an unrivalled scene-stealer in Canadian TV. The fact that he’s a German shepherd is largely irrelevant. In fact, vom Burgimwald never talks about it.

“Diesel is a pro. He hits his mark better than I do,” says John Reardon, who plays vom Burgimwald’s onscreen partner, Hudson.

“He’s pretty brilliant,” agrees vom Burgimwald’s trainer Sherri Davis, who’s been in the business for 25 years. “He knew absolutely nothing coming into Hudson & Rex. He’d never worked in film, seen cameras, lights — nothing. He has picked it up remarkably quickly.”

And audiences love him. Hudson & Rex scored 4.1 million viewers in its first season and it was renewed for another season just six episodes in. Season 2 airs Tuesdays on Citytv.

Vom Burgimwald’s character Rex is the kind of wounded soul fans swoon for, a true underdog. He was logging hours in the K9 unit when his partner died, and then was transferred to major crimes at the St. John’s Police Department, where he was paired up with Hudson.

Vom Burgimwald himself is built for show business. He’s a lean 90 pounds, with thick brown hair and eyes you can get lost in. He’s a Canadian Kennel Club Grand Champion and hails from Burgimwald Kennels just north of Barrie, Ont. He’s also distantly related to the canine star of the Austrian TV series Kommissar Rex, which inspired the Canadian show.

Given his celebrity lineage, vom Burgimwald’s reticence with the media is understandable — he never gives interviews. And by all accounts, the three-year-old is still a mama’s boy.

“We’re inseparable,” says Davis, who lives with vom Burgimwald in Ancaster, Ont., when they’re not filming in Newfoundland.

Naturally, Reardon was nervous about meeting his co-star. The two came together just a few days before filming and the pressure to create chemistry weighed heavily. Luckily they bonded over steaks.

“I think everyone breathed a sigh of relief,” says Reardon. “We may not have been Ross and Rachel, but maybe Starsky and Hutch.”

The two also went for a car ride to cement the relationship.

“It was like the first time you hang out with a friend that you normally only see with other friends but then you plan to do something, just the two of you, and hope that it won’t be awkward. But it worked out — we’re both strong, silent types,” Reardon says.

John Reardon, left, and Diesel vom Burgimwald in Hudson & RexCitytv

Now, vom Burgimwald happily greets Reardon every morning and gets protective of his co-star when he thinks he’s in danger on the set. “He’s got my back,” Reardon says.

He even forgives vom Burgimwald for that time he licked him in the mouth without warning during a scene, and it made the final cut. But, says Davis, you can’t blame an actor for trying to improvise.

“Diesel’s a very serious dog, yet has these quirky puppy moments,” she says. “In season 2, he does some amazing things like scent work, tackles and takedowns. He’s really improved with his behaviour, showing compassion and the sensitive side of Rex, as well as the working side.”

Vom Burgimwald does get help on the set from his two look-alike nephews — think of it less as nepotism and more a function of practicality. Class clown Izzy is his photo double, and rough-and-tumble Iko does stunts. The three let loose together with weekly spa treatments.

“We have to file their nails the same so they don’t look different from episode to episode. We bathe them, condition their coats, blow-dry them, and oil down their coats,” says Davis, who owns the BRB K9 Services training facility in Ancaster. “They love it. When we’re blow-drying them, Diesel will fall asleep.”

“Diesel’s a very serious dog, yet has these quirky puppy moments,” she says.

In his downtime — which is rare since he’s on the set five days a week — vom Burgimwald likes his creature comforts. He sits on a king-sized bed, bundled up with his blankets, stuffed animals, tennis balls and other assorted toys. He also makes time for romance. In fact, he’s a bit of a playboy.

“He has a couple of girlfriends,” says Davis. “In Toronto he has a lady dog named Smudge, whom he hangs with all the time. In Newfoundland he has a little lady companion named Mary.”

With all vom Burgimwald’s winning traits — loyalty, work ethic, rakish charm — perhaps W.C. Fields might have made an exception when he said actors shouldn’t work with animals or babies.

“What a cynic!” says Reardon. “Did he hate warm summer nights, sunsets, and holidays? Did he live in the town from Footloose that banned dancing? Working with Diesel is a huge plus for me. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Hudson & Rex is a buddy show. Wouldn’t work too well without two buddies.”

Hudson & Rex airs Tuesdays on Citytv.

Sherri Davis and Diesel vom BurgimwaldCitytv

QUICK FACTS ABOUT SHERRI DAVIS • Davis owns 52 dogs, three cats, and several birds. In the past, she’s owned rats, skunks, raccoons, and a lynx.

• She’s trained animals for other TV shows including Murdoch Mysteries, Flashpoint, American Gods, and Coroner.

• For the 1996 movie The Colony, she brought in 650 rats — ones for jumping, ones for running, ones for stunts, and ones who did certain gestures.

• Davis believes the eyes have it, when it comes to communicating with animals: “You can tell if they’re having good days or bad days, if they’re happy, sad, angry. Their eyes tell you everything.”